Car-coupling mechanism



April as 192".

C. H. TOMLlNSON CAR COUPLING MECHANI SM Filed Sept. 25, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet Gama/55% fimz/A/s April 13 1926. 1,580,370

C. H. TOMLENSON CAR COUPLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 25, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

22 20 2/ m 0* Id Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

UNITED stares PATENT oF IcE.

CHARLES H. TOMLINSON, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE TOMLINSON COUPLER COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OI-IIO, A

CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING MECHANISM.

Application filed September 25, 1924. Serial No. 739,812.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES H. TOMLIN- SON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Car-Coupling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to car couplers and has for its object the provision of a device of this class which shall be of improved construction and operation.

The invention is exemplified in the combination, construction and arrangement of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification, and it is more fully pointed out in the appended claims.

In the" drawings Fig. l is a top plan View of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of my invention as shown in Fig. 1, with the addition of a like cooperating head in coupled relation.

Fig. 3 is a side plan view of the heads shown in Fig. 2, together with a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig; 2.

Fig. 4 is an end view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows two cooperating heads brought together with their longitudinal axes AA and BB at an angle, as would be the case in coupling two cars in which the coupling heads are not centrally positioned.

Fig. 6 shows a side plan view of two heads which havebeen' brought together with their axes A-A and BB out of horizontal alinement, as would be the case where one coupling head is higher than the cooperating head.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I employ a body member or head 1 provided with a tailpiece 2, which in turn may be secured to a spring draft gear, but which I have not shown, as spring draft gears are common and well known and used for years in practice and as it forms no part of my invention. The spring draft gear, as

is well known, is secured to the car body ad-' lug 10, secured to the inner wall of the tail piece 2 and through which the guide rodS passes. The spring 9 is normally under compression and constantly urging the sliding lock 6 to move forwardly.

It will benoted that the locking head 7 is provided with faces 11 and 12 which engage the tail piece 5 on the knuckle when two heads are in coupled relation, as in Fig. 2. When, however, the sliding lock 6 is drawn backward by retracting the rod. 8 suflicient so that the surfacell does not engage with the tail piece 5, the knuckle will be free to pivot upon the pin 4, as shown in Fig. 5. In order to automatically move the knuckle from the position shown in Fig. 2 to thatv shown in Fig. 5 when the sliding lock is retracted, I mount upon the coupling head a spring 18 by means of the bolt and nut 14,

the tension on the rod 8, tending to hold the lock in a retracted position, is released, that the sliding lock will move forward against the tail piece 5 of the knuckle 3 and main-. tain the knuckle in an open position. It will also be noted that if two heads are brought together with the knuckles in an open or unlocked position that, as the knuckles engage and the coupling heads move nearer to-' gether, the knuckles will pivot about the pin 4 and finally assume the position shown in Fig. 2 and the sliding lock 6 will also advance into the position shown in Fig. 2, and will prevent re-rotation of the knuckles upon their respective pins, and the heads will therefore, not only be automatically coupled but maintained in a coupled relation until one or both of the sliding locks be retracted. The sliding lock 6 may be operated by ex tending the rod 8 rearwardly beneath the car and connecting it to levers or other mechanism for its operation, as shown and described in my Patent No. 1,495,463, dated May 27, 192 1, but which I am not claiming as my present invention.

Pro ecting laterally upon opposite sides of the head 1 are lugs 15 and 16. The lug 15 is provided with a bushing 17, which may be of very hard metal to resist wear, and the bushing 17 is provided with a channel 18.

The lug 16 is provided with a reciprocating pin 19 mounted within the said lug to move in a longitudinal direction and to cooperate with the channel 18 of the lug 15 on a cooperating head. The pin 19 has a reduced portion 20 working in the lug 16 and surrounded with a spring 21, tending to constantly move the pin 19 to its forward position. Forward movei'neut is limited by the nut on the end of the pin engaging with the lug 16, and the rearward movement of the pin 19 is limited only by the -com pressed spring 21. The forward end 23 of the pin 19 is tapered, which permits the pin to enter the opening 18 in the cooperating head providing the heads should be slightly out of alinement. I prefer to make the rela-- tion of the pin 19 with the lug 15 such that there will be very little play between the pin 19 and the lug 15 when the two heads are in coupled relation thereby tending to prevent the axes A-A and BB from getting out of alinement and also to hold the coupling heads in a substantially fixed re lation in all directions excepting the longitudinal direction.

If two heads are brought together and one head is higher than the other head, as shown in Fig. 6, the end of the pin 19 will engage with the face 24 of the cooperating head and the pin will be retracted, permitting the coupling heads to be automatically coupled, as herebefore described, and the parts will assume the relation as shown in Fig. 6. As soon, however, as the heads move into alinement so that their axes coincide, the pin 19 will be forced into the channel 18 by the spring 21 thereby preventing lateral, vertical or themovement out of alinement of the coupling heads.

If two heads should be brought together with their axes, in the same horizontal plane, but angularly disposed to each other, as shown in Fig. 5, the pin 19 on one side, as shown, will be retracted, permitting the lugs 15 and 16 to engage and this would produce a moment of force about the center ofsupport of the coupler to the car body, and this would tend to move the coupling heads into alinement, providing they were not too far out of alinement, upon impact. As soon as the heads line up the pins 19 will be forcet into their respective recesses 18 on the cooperating head through the action of the spring 21.

It will be apparent that I have described a coupler of the Janney type, in which I have incorporated means to aline the heads if they are brought together with their longitudinal axes angularly disposed to each other, and that I have further incorporated means for preventing all movement of one head relative to the other head with the exception of their longitudinal movement and this can be made as small as it is practical for a properly operating coupler.

Having the pins 19'yielding prevents their injury upon impact when the couplers are not in perfect alinement.

Those skilled in the art will readily understand my disclosure herewith made and the same will suggest to them modifications, but I do not wish to be limited in my invention other than by my claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a pair of coupling heads, each head to be secured to a car body, engaging means on each head to hold the heads in coupled relation, means on each head cooperating with other means on the coupled head to prevent vertical, lateral or a bending movement of the heads relative to each other.

2. In combination, a pair of coupling heads, each head to be secured to a car body, engaging means on each head to hold,

the heads in coupled relation, yielding means on each head cooperating with other means on the coupled head to prevent vertical, lateral or a bending movement of the heads relative to each other.

3. A pair of coupling heads adapted to couple automatically upon impact having in combination therewith means on one head to engage yielding means on the other head to maintain the heads in horizontal alinement, prevent relative vertical movement. and prevent buckling under compression.

4:. In combination, a pair of coupling heads, each provided with a drawbar for mounting the coupler on a car, spring held reciprocating means on one head cooperating with means on the other head to prevent relative vertical and lateral movement of the heads and laterally projecting means on the heads to engage each other to aline the longitudinal axes of the heads upon coupling impact.

5.111 combination, a pair of coupling heads, each provided with a drawbar for mounting the coupler to a car, a laterally projecting arm on each head provided with a passage therein, an oppositely disposed and laterally projecting arm on each head provided with a spring held reciprocating pin to enter the said passage on the opposite head to prevent the relative vertical movement of the heads.

6. In combination, a pair of coupling heads, each provided with a drawbar for mounting the coupler to a car, .a laterally projecting arm on each head provided with a passage therein, an oppositely disposed and laterally projecting arm on each head provided with a spring held reciprocating pin to enter the said passage on the opposite head to prevent the relative vertical movement of the heads, the oppositely disposed arm on either side of the heads arranged to engage if the heads are brought together by impact with their longitudinal axes at an angle and to move the head into axial alinement.

7. In combination, a pair of coupling heads to be secured to cars, coupling means on each head cooperating with each other to maintain the heads in coupled relation, longitudinally, sliding locking means to maintain the coupling means in coupled relation and yielding means on each head engaging with fixed means on each head to prevent relative vertical movement of the heads when in coupled relation.

Y 8. In combination, a pair of J anney type coupling heads each provided with yielding means cooperating with other means on the coupler head to prevent relative vertical movement of the heads.

9. A Janney type coupling head provided with a reciprocating spring held pin on one side of the head and a recess-on the other side of the head, the pin and recess on the head adapted to engage with a recess and pin respectively on a coupled head to prevent lateral and vertical movement of two heads when coupled.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES H. TOMLINSON. 

